Epic Games’ Unreal Engine now supports Sony’s PS5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, meaning we can expect a suite of next-generation games using the engine towards the end of 2020 and in 2021. And Fortnite will very likely be one of them.
The latest release of the Unreal Engine, version 4.25, noted the support for the upcoming games consoles. This will let developers to start making new Unreal-powered games as well as configure existing games that use the engine to work on the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
- PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: How the consoles stack up
- Xbox Series X games: every confirmed title for 2020 and beyond
- Plus: Xbox Series X holding major exclusives event to battle PS5
As the Unreal Engine is one of the most popular and heavily used game development platforms in the world, it was bound to make its way over to the next-generation Sony and Microsoft consoles. But it’s worth noting that this new support is only at the “initial” stage, with Epic noting that more developer orientated updates will be released throughout the run-up to the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Epic noted that the new support included “platform-specific functionality”, which hints that there will be different features the Unreal Engine will support for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Expect some clever audio support for the former, as the PS5’s Tempest 3D Audio Tech is expected to bring more immersive sound to future PlayStation games.
Other than the potential for new Unreal Engine games to come to the new consoles, the added next-gen support means we’re almost certainly going to see Fortnite get ported over to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We’d expect both consoles to bring some graphical and performance enhancements to the world’s largest battle royale game.
Another interesting takeaway is that the Unreal Engine is free for developers to use, which could mean a lot of indie developers now have the scope to create games for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
We’re expecting a good range of triple-A games from major developers on both consoles. But the potential for independent developers to create fresh and different games that tap into the power and capabilities of the upcoming consoles could be very exciting for those picking up a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
